Cruze Diesel Leaking Rear Main Seal

9321 Views 20 Replies 13 Participants Last post by diesel, Mar 18, 2017

TurboDieselCruze

Discussion Starter · Mar 9, 2017

Hello fellow Cruze Diesel owners. I received the bad news that my Cruze Diesel with only 58k miles (and only approximately 2 years old) has a leaking rear main seal. After a recent oil change, I noticed small puddles of oil on my garage floor. I figured the dealer stripped the oil plug (again). So, my wife brought it in for the dealer to look at.

My wife and I love this car, but this is a huge disappointment. I bought the car for a daily 150 mile round trip commute on the highway. I drove the car for the first 1.5 years and now my wife is the main driver as we moved and she has the longer commute.

The car has only been serviced at Chevy- all oil changes, tire rotations, fuel filter changes. (I typically do my own maintenance, however, I have been too busy) This is the 5th GM car I have bought since 2009. I expected to get many trouble free miles from this car, but this makes me nervous. It took the dealer 3 days (had to go back on 2 different occasions) to diagnose the issue. They sent my wife home with it today until they could give us a loaner car next week. I don't feel so good about it being driven with this issue. I would love to get rid of this car, but I am upside down in payments due to the 30k miles per year it is driven. I guess I could always go back to buying all Hondas, however, I prefer to buy American.

Anyone else have the RMS go bad?

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

Tomko

· #2 · Mar 9, 2017

You're the first.

An oil leak is covered at no charge by the powertrain warranty. This repair likely requires the use of specialized tools that your dealer must get in beforehand.

It is certainly not a reason to dump the car. While it is more than a scratch or burned out lightbulb, it is much less than a mechanical problem with the drivetrain.

Reactions: 2

boraz

· #3 · Mar 9, 2017

seals go bad

of all the problems that have been posted here, this is minor minor minor.

because the seal went isnt a sign of anything, nor does it mean it will fail again in another 50k miles.

yes, its pita to have it repaired, but its covered by powertrain warranty aint it?

i have oil pan seal leak, goin in next month for repair.

Reactions: 2

boraz

· #4 · Mar 9, 2017

curious what do you do consider 'american'?

its a korean car with italian/german motor and japanese trans ASSEMBLED in usa with lotsa other foreign parts

Reactions: 2

TurboDieselCruze

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 9, 2017

Thanks for the replies. Yes, an inconvenience, but it should be covered under the power train warranty. I am aware of the vehicle's parts origin. GM is a global company like most. I am a big fan of the Aisin transmission and I would think Europeans have more experience building a small diesel engine. When I say purchase "American", I first look to see if the vehicle is at least assembled in the USA and is an American company. It's almost impossible to purchase a vehicle with "all American parts". I know there are some vehicles with "more American content". The big draw to this car was the fuel efficient and torque-laden diesel engine, comfortable leather seats.... and my only other choice would have been the VW:$#angry:

Reactions: 2

JRB'sOilburningCruze

· #6 · Mar 9, 2017

A leaking RMS sucks. Let GM fix it and keep driving it. Not sure what to be nervous about. Is a leaking seal predictive of major engine failure or some other significant problem? Probably not. My CTD has 54k on it, no leaks.

My son's 2001 S10 leaked like a sieve at 230,000 miles until we pulled the engine and replaced the RMS, FMS, & oil pan gasket, after that no more leaks. Truck keeps on rolling.

I agree the RMS should not fail at your current mileage, but there is no such thing a perfect seal, and sometimes the fail prematurely.

Good luck.

Reactions: 2

justin13703

· #7 · Mar 9, 2017

Yeah a leaking rear main is really not that big of a deal. It won't hurt anything at all to drive it until they repair it. This isn't a common issue.

Reactions: 1

NHRA

· #8 · Mar 12, 2017

boraz said:
curious what do you do consider 'american'?

its a korean car with italian/german motor and japanese trans ASSEMBLED in usa with lotsa other foreign parts

Transmission cooler lines are made in Poland

Reactions: 2

dougc905

· #9 · Mar 13, 2017

NHRA said:
Transmission cooler lines are made in Poland

This makes me wonder if the engine/transmission are assembled in Europe and shipped here as a unit. Otherwise, a box of oil cooler lines are shipped for assembly?

MP81

· #10 · Mar 13, 2017

Definitely sounds like nothing to be worried about. It's covered under warranty, and just happens to be a bad seal. No big deal.

TurboDieselCruze

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 14, 2017

The dealer called yesterday and informed me it's not the RMS as they originally diagnosed. The oil PAN gasket is leaking and needs to be replaced. I believe this is more common, even with the gas Cruze. Either way, it's covered under the power train warranty. My wife got an Equinox loaner. Does anyone know when you can purchase the diesel Equinox (2018)? I don't see them in dealer inventory here.

Reactions: 2

MP81

· #12 · Mar 14, 2017

The Chevy website says Summer 2017.

Reactions: 1

jblackburn

· #13 · Mar 14, 2017

TurboDieselCruze said:
The dealer called yesterday and informed me it's not the RMS as they originally diagnosed. The oil PAN gasket is leaking and needs to be replaced. I believe this is more common, even with the gas Cruze. Either way, it's covered under the power train warranty. My wife got an Equinox loaner. Does anyone know when you can purchase the diesel Equinox (2018)? I don't see them in dealer inventory here.

Yeah, and that's not even uncommon for non-GM vehicles these days.

If that's a 2018 Equinox loaner you've got, I'd be interested in impressions of it. I'm not sure if they're on lots yet, but they're supposed to be soon.

Reactions: 1

MP81

· #14 · Mar 14, 2017

jblackburn said:
Yeah, and that's not even uncommon for non-GM vehicles these days.

If that's a 2018 Equinox loaner you've got, I'd be interested in impressions of it. I'm not sure if they're on lots yet, but they're supposed to be soon.

I've seen one or two non-M-Plates on the road recently.

TurboDieselCruze

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 14, 2017

It is a 2017 Equinox which is OK- but I would wait for the 2018 before purchasing. I noticed dealers have 2018 Equinoxes on their websites stating "in transit". I guess they are not on the lot yet. The first loaner my wife got was a 2017 Cruze hatchback- gasser. It was a nice car, but the engine was lame compared to the torque in our diesel.

Reactions: 2

diesel

· #16 · Mar 15, 2017

Glad to hear you're covered!

Reactions: 1

jkhawaii

· #17 · Mar 15, 2017

Not yet. 3 years, 33000 on mine. The water pump is leaking though. One thing I found about engine oil with these cars. 4 quarts is a good fill capacity, not 4.7 the book says. Over filling is said to contribute to fowling of the NOX and o2 sensors, as well as blowing more oil into the intake boot.

diesel

· #18 · Mar 16, 2017

jkhawaii said:
Not yet. 3 years, 33000 on mine. The water pump is leaking though. One thing I found about engine oil with these cars. 4 quarts is a good fill capacity, not 4.7 the book says. Over filling is said to contribute to fowling of the NOX and o2 sensors, as well as blowing more oil into the intake boot.

I agree. I do about 4.25-4.5 on mine.

sparkola

· #19 · Mar 17, 2017

I just did mine and had to add the full 5 qt bottle to get it to the top of the crosshatch area. I did change my oil with the engine hot though and let it drip out the hole for 20 minutes. Normally I do the 4.5 qt thing and its fine.

KpaxFAQ

· #20 · Mar 17, 2017

sparkola said:
I just did mine and had to add the full 5 qt bottle to get it to the top of the crosshatch area. I did change my oil with the engine hot though and let it drip out the hole for 20 minutes. Normally I do the 4.5 qt thing and its fine.

You're overfilled

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